Kiffin's emotional response (1 Viewer)

[BustedKnuckles]

Kiffin's emotional response to hit impresses team

Dec. 5, 2007

Lane Kiffin’s young age and the fact that he dons the Silver & Black already draw comparisons to former coach Jon Gruden, but in Week 13, he took those comparisons to a new level by showing more fire than he has at any point during his brief tenure at the helm in Oakland. After QB Josh McCown was decked by Broncos LB Ian Gold following a third-quarter TD pass, Kiffin, believing it was a helmet-to-helmet hit, sprinted down the sideline and began a heated verbal assault with officials. Problem is, besides the referees, the source of his displeasure was Broncos DT Alvin McKinley, who was not involved in the hit and later received an apology from the first-year coach after the game. Regardless of the mistaken identity, several team members told sources close to the team that they enjoyed seeing the emotion out of Kiffin when it came to defending his players, and the bond between coach and player in Oakland continues to grow — a far cry from the days of Bill Callahan and Art Shell. “That was sweet to see Lane yell at somebody besides me," McCown said. "He was fired up, and guys feed off that. You love to see energy out of your coach. He was going after the guy that hit me. It wasn't just the refs. He went after the player. I appreciated that. It shows great leadership.”



Ever since Lane took the job, something about him wasn't going to let us do the same old (expletive) over and over again. His message has been consistent: 'Let's stop (expletive) around and go play.' He has all the confidence in the world, and we feed off that. This was the best we've played since I've been here, easy; we put our foot on them today.

Warren Sapp

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Copied from RAIDER TAKE

Big Plays and Little Things

Sometimes it’s the little things. By now, you all know the story of Sunday’s game, and all the reasons to scream and shout, so I won’t belabor the obvious. Therefore, I’d just like to focus on an unheralded moment just prior to halftime, one that got me fired up nearly as much as the big plays and final score.

With 38 seconds on the clock, and the Broncos facing second and nine on their own 15-yard line, Lane Kiffin called a timeout. Then, after the Broncos ran the ball for seven yards, he called a second timeout with 31 seconds remaining. After Denver got a first down on the next play, he stopped calling timeouts.

But the strategy was clear—Kiffin intended to stop Denver, get the ball back with about 20 seconds left, and fight for a long field goal before time expired.

Conversely, he wasn’t worried about giving the Broncos extra clock stoppages that might aid them if they came up with a big play.

In other words, Kiffin was totally on the offensive, even on defense.

This little sequence had no bearing on the game and was quickly forgotten, but I am convinced that it signals a long-overdue shift in our collective coaching mindset. You would have never seen something like this under Turner and Shell, who never seemed to grasp the concept of playing to win, and who never seemed to ask the question “What do we have to lose?,” even when all they were doing was losing.

Those of you who frequent these parts know that, for two and a half straight years, I have been literally flipping out about countless time-management decisions that contradict the laws of both common sense and competitive football. Kiffin himself has been a perpetrator at times. But he seems to have turned an important corner, and not a moment too soon.

What do we have to lose? Kiffin has finally answered that question: nothing. And this moment of clarity and catharsis has netted us back-to-back wins over AFC West rivals. It’s obvious in the playcalling, and it’s obvious in the execution. But it’s also obvious in the little things, like those aforementioned timeouts.

Kiffin stopped the clock and dared Shanahan and his team to make the big play. Kiffin stopped the clock because he was convinced we could keep them from getting a first down. Kiffin stopped the clock because he thought we could respond by quickly getting into Janikowski’s generous field goal range. Kiffin stopped the clock because he was ready to kick some ###.

Much has been made about Kiffin getting animated on the sideline during the game and even talking some smack. I know that the players appreciate it, but they no doubt appreciate these quieter votes of confidence as well. They, too, must be rejoicing about our return to competitive sanity.

On a related note, Sunday’s game was more than a mere victory, it was a long-awaited return to grown-up, highly functional football. Four offensive touchdowns in one game! There was a time—say, last month—when we couldn’t score four offensive touchdowns in four games. There was time—say, last year—when four touchdowns represented 25 percent of our seasonal output. I can’t tell you how thrilled Cousin of Raider Take and I were to be watching an exciting, dynamic game of highly functional football inside the Oakland Coliseum. It seems like it’s been ages. In fact, it has.

The frosting on the cake was the debut of JaMarcus Russell, and the deafening roar that accompanied him. The zip on his ball was remarkable. Compared to McCown, it was like seeing Nolan Ryan after watching Phil Niekro, if you get my drift.

Still, McCown proved that you don’t need a cannon to make the big plays. I recall him performing well enough during his days in Arizona, including a brilliant last-second touchdown pass to knock the Vikings out of the playoffs some years ago. Finally, he showed the upside I’d initially expected from him. Perhaps he just needed time to get acclimated—not to mention the extra time provided by our improving offensive line.

In the span of eight days, we’ve seen a revitalized Culpepper and a born-again McCown. Coincidence? Maybe. But it surely has something to do with the supporting cast, too, including the coaches. But whatever the reason, we’re suddenly seeing some serious playmaking. We’ve gone from tricycle to motorcycle in a span of two weeks. I need not tell you that this bodes very well for the immediate future of Lane Kiffin and the Oakland Raiders.

When things really get going at the Coliseum, the crowd becomes a sort of collective animal, a loud, throbbing explosion of humanity. On Sunday, the animal was unleashed, and it was quite a magnificent sight to see.

Yet amid all the big plays and riotous revelry, we can’t forget the significance of those two little timeouts, for they, too, reveal the return of a winning attitude to Oakland.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

A new face to the practice squad is Matt Trannon, a 6-foot-6, 216-pound wide receiver out of Michigan State who also played basketball. Trannon replaces Marco Thomas, who was released Tuesday.

High School Career

He was ranked among the nation's top 20 prep basketball players by ESPN.com (No. 18), and was the number six ranked power forward,[citation needed] and ranked as the nation's 34th best wide receivers by Rivals.com.[1] He was named the top high school athlete in the nation by Prep Spotlight after starring in both football and basketball at Flint Northern High School. In basketball he averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds, in football he caught 77 passes for 1100 yards and twenty touchdowns as a senior.

College career

Basketball

Trannon didn't join the basketball team until he was a sophomore where he played in 17 games, averaging 6.9 minutes per contest averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest. During his junior year he shot 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the field,[2] tops among teammates with at least 30 field-goal attempts. He has played in 2 NCAA Tournaments, including an appearance in the Final Four during 2004-2005. Trannon decided to forgo his senior year of basketball to prepare for the 2007 NFL Draft.

Football

Trannon started 11 games at wide receiver, ranked second on the team with 36 receptions for 405 yards and two touchdowns in his junior year. He caught 28 passes for 259 yards in 2003 caught passes in nine different games. During his senior year, he set the Michigan State single game reception record with 14 receptions against Eastern Michigan University, and also became MSU's all time receptions leader with 148 recptions. In addition, he was second on the team in receptions (44), receiving yards (502) and touchdown catches (3).

National Football League career

Despite not being taken in the 2007 NFL Draft, Trannon signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He was released on August 31, 2007 but was signed to the Cardinals practice squad.

 

[BustedKnuckles]

Got this from foxsports.com rumor mill...Buc Kiffin could join son.

The rumor mill is churning with potential coaching changes around the league. One to watch: Longtime Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will be a free agent, and there's speculation he may go to the Raiders to work under his son, Lane Kiffin. How would that affect the Jets? If Kiffin goes to Oakland, it presumably would free up Raiders coordinator Rob Ryan, who is extremely close to Mangini. — NY Daily News

 

[Joe Bryant]

Is the Arkansas talk dead for him now?

J

 

[Hugonel]

Copied from RAIDER TAKE But the strategy was clear—Kiffin intended to stop Denver, get the ball back with about 20 seconds left, and fight for a long field goal before time expired.Conversely, he wasn’t worried about giving the Broncos extra clock stoppages that might aid them if they came up with a big play. In other words, Kiffin was totally on the offensive, even on defense.

It absolutely kills me when a team stops fighting to score just because there's less than a minute to go, unless the game is entirely out of reach (i.e., good sportsmanship). Even on a hail mary, theoretically the offense has a better idea of where the ball is going to be launched. So you're so scared one of your eleven guys can't stop a guy from going 95 yards that you're just going to roll over and take a knee? Revolting.

 

[Da Guru]

Is the Arkansas talk dead for him now?J

Lane Kiffen to MICHIGAN!!

 

[[scooter]]

“That was sweet to see Lane yell at somebody besides me," McCown said.

 

[Statcruncher]

Problem is, besides the referees, the source of his displeasure was Broncos DT Alvin McKinley, who was not involved in the hit and later received an apology from the first-year coach after the game.

Nothing fires me up like a coach who tears into a random guy because he doen't know who did it.